To Gen Z and Apha: Challenges worth taking this Independence Day of 2023

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Today, we are celebrating slash commemorating slash observing the Independence Day. While for the younger generation we call Generation Z and Generation Alpha are now basking in the fruits of peace and freedom brought by 12th of June without even asking how and why they have them now and without wondering if it can be taken away from them. 

I belong to the Generation X slash Millennial so I still have the grasp of what could happen if freedom is taken away or what peace means outside the comfort of my brain or bed. I aspired to be a journalist because of the importance of the ideals of what press freedom in every democratic country.   

Peace and freedom for the younger generation merely means they should be left to dress up like they are going to the beach when they go to school. Peace and freedom merely means they can post whatever they want in social media and claim irresponsibility if the post caused trouble to others. And so on and so forth. Peace and freedom has been meaningful for the community once, and now it has slowly evolved as peace and freedom for an individual only.  

There is nothing wrong with claiming peace and freedom for one's own benefit but it should also be used with care for the community. Peace and Freedom is now being taken away abruptly by extra-judicial killings and slowly by the internet. My generation readily understood abrupt abortion of peace and freedom is clear in extra-judicial killings and it should be condemned to the fullest. However, the slow but sure taking of peace and freedom from us over what we experience through the internet is the modern imperialism which we should be on the watch. Why? Because we are a community of people and it is our community which we should give back and take care first before we can truly adapt in the borderless world.

While we are all globally interconnected now, we should not be strangers to our community.  

Yuval Noah Harari's books cast light and ask questions regarding nationhood and I highly recommend it for reading. They made me think that while nationhood is a tale we told ourselves as humans for so long, it should be reexamined in order to embrace the inevitable borderless nations through the internet and one mother Earth given the global warming we now experience rather than political subdivisions. But first, on the personal level, we should care for the community and not bask in the peace and freedom we have now only for one's own benefit or exploitation despite they were all at the expense of the community. We can discard the tale of nationhood but we cannot discard the truth that as humans, we rely on each other.

Thus, I challenge Generation Z and Alpha to be more socially aware when using the internet. Strive for higher ideals and noble causes because even the games you play or the site you are visiting can indoctrinate you whether you admit it or not. You should be a step ahead by admitting that technologies such as AI and algorithm can mess with your integrity and what you believe in. Use technology to help your community, not destroy. Community who you meet in person matters. Serve your cliques, never sacrifice them for clicks. 

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